Garment finishing device

ABSTRACT

The present invention having a cool air supply mechanism ( 4 ) to supply cool air to the garment ( 2 ) after drying with heated air, and the cool air supply mechanism ( 4 ) includes a branch path ( 7 ) that branches from a heated air supply path ( 6 ) linking an air blower ( 5 ) to the inside of the torso ( 1 );
         a first control valve ( 8 ) to open and close the branch path ( 7 );   a second control valve ( 9 ) to open and close the heated air supply path ( 6 );   a control device ( 10 ) to close the first control valve ( 8 ) and open the second control valve ( 9 ) during the supply of heated air, and to close the second control valve ( 9 ) and open the first control valve ( 8 ) during the supply of cool air; and   the branch path ( 7 ) is formed connecting to the inside of the torso ( 1 ).

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a garment finishing device. More specifically, it relates to a garment finishing device type that finishes laundered outerwear, shirt, and the like into the finished form as worn on an upright torso.

2. Description of the Related Art

In the related art include descriptions of this type of finishing device, for example described in patent document 1 (Japanese Patent Publication No. Hei-12-202195), generally, the garment worn on a torso dry-finished by a heated air which blowing through the inside of the torso.

Therefore, the garment finishing device of the related art tends to easily form wrinkles and the garment form is prone to easily collapse because the garment just removed from the torso has the heat and cannot be formed into a firm form.

Consequently, the related art has the problem that ironing is required to remove wrinkles of this type.

The present invention is therefore proposed in view of the aforementioned problems with the related art.

Accordingly, the object of the present invention is to provide a garment finishing device capable of preventing garment removed from the torso from losing its form and becoming wrinkled, and eliminating the troublesome task of removing these types of wrinkles, in the garment finishing device type that finishes laundered shirt and the like into the finished form as worn on the torso.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention as shown in FIG. 1, is a garment finishing device type that finishes garment 2 worn on a torso 1 by supplying a heated air and steam through the inside of the torso 1 and further including a cool air supply mechanism 4 to supply cool air to the garment 2 after drying with the heated air.

The heated air or cool air supply time in the present invention, may be appropriately selected by a type of the garment 2, a type and a thickness of a cloth, etc. The cool air may be room temperature and the temperature need not be artificially lowered.

In the present invention, the cool air supply mechanism 4 includes a branch path 7 that branches from a heated air supply path 6 linking an air blower 5 to the inside of the torso 1; a first control valve 8 to open and close the branch path 7; a second control valve 9 to open and close the heated air supply path 6; and a control device 10 to close the first control valve 8 and open the second control valve 9 during the supply of the heated air, and to close the second control valve 9 and open the first control valve 8 during the supply of the cool air; and the branch path 7 is preferably formed connecting to the inside of the torso 1.

The branch path 7 connecting to the inside of the torso 1 is desirable because the heated air and cool air can be supplied from a single air blower 5; so that the cool air supply mechanism 4 can be achieved with a simple design and a low cost. The supply of the heated air may be achieved by mounting a radiator or a heater as a heat source 14 to the heated air supply path 6 within a pedestal section 13 below the torso 1.

The heat source 14 mounted in the lower section of the torso 1 can swiftly supply the heated air to the garment 2 without allowing a drop in the temperature of the heated air. Therefore, mounting in the lower section offers the advantage that drying of the garment 2 can be swiftly accomplished and with no waste of heat energy. As the control device 10 is for example a microcomputer or a sequencer.

In the present invention, as shown in FIG. 1, etc., an opening is formed at a location corresponding to the upper end of the branch path 7 as a cool air vent 16 in a side plate 13 a of the pedestal section 13 of the present invention, and the first control valve 8 is preferably provided to the cool air vent 16.

Providing the first control valve 8 in the cool air vent 16 is desirable because a reverse flow of the heated air can be prevented at an early stage to enter the branch path 7 through the cool air vent 16; a loss of the heat energy from the heated air can be prevented, and the garment 2 can be efficiently dry-finished.

In the present invention, as shown in FIG. 11, the cool air supply mechanism 4 includes the branch path 7 that branches from the heated air supply path 6 linking the air blower 5 to the inside of the torso 1; a flow path switching valve 18 provided in the branch point between the branch path 7 and the heated air supply path 6; and a control section 19 to control the flow path switching valve 18, and to connect the inside of the torso 1 and air blower 5 through the heated air supply path 6 during the supply of the heated air, and to connect the inside of the torso 1 and the air blower 5 through the branch path 7 during the supply of the cool air; and the branch path 7 may be formed connecting to the inside of the torso 1.

The branch path 7 connecting to the inside of the torso 1 is desirable because the number of separate valves can be reduced in comparison to the present invention according to claim 2, and therefore the design of the cool air supply mechanism 4 can be simplified and a low cost can be achieved by a proportional amount.

The present invention is formed in described above, and so the garment dry-finished by the heated air can into a trim form by cooling with the cool air.

Accordingly, it can be prevent to collapse of the garment form and to wrinkle easily on the garment, and the trouble of removing this type of wrinkle can be eliminated.

Also, the garment of the present invention does not allow wrinkle easily, so the garment removed from the torso can be immediately folded up and cleaning tasks are more efficient.

DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a structural view of one preferred embodiment of the finishing device of the present invention,

FIG. 2 is a cross sectional view in a using state of the finishing device,

FIG. 3 is a cross sectional view of a main part of the finishing device,

FIG. 4 is a cross sectional view of the main part of the finishing device omitted a heat source,

FIG. 5 is a main side view for explain the operation of a second control valve during the supply of heated air,

FIG. 6 is a main side view for explain the operation of a first control valve during the supply of heated air,

FIG. 7 is a main side view for explain the flow of the air during the supply of heated air,

FIG. 8 is a main side view for explain the operation of the second control valve during the supply of cool air,

FIG. 9 is a main side view for explain the operation, the first control valve during the supply of cool air,

FIG. 10 is a flow chart of one preferred embodiment of the finishing device,

FIG. 11 is a main part structural, view of another embodiment of the finishing device; and

FIG. 12 is a flow chart of another embodiment in FIG. 11 of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERABLE EMBODIMENT

The preferred embodiment of the present invention is described next while referring to the accompanying drawings.

The present invention is a garment finishing device type that finishes a garment 2 worn on a torso 1 by supplying a heated air and steam trough the inside of the torso 1. The skirt of the garment 2 is pressed by a pair of pressing irons 3 provided at the front and back of the torso 1.

Further, the present invention including a cool air supply mechanism 4 to supply cool air to the garment 2 after drying with the heated air. The cool air supply mechanism 4 includes a branch path 7 that branches from a heated air supply path 6 linking an air blower 5 to the inside of the torso 1; a first control valve 8 to open and close the branch path 7; a second control valve 9 to open and close the heated air supply path 6; and a control device 10 to close the first control valve 8 and open the second control valve 9 during the supply of the heated air, and to close the second control valve 9 and open the first control valve 8 during the supply of the cool air; and the branch path 7 is formed connecting to the inside of the torso 1.

A reference numeral 11 is an air intake of the air blower 5. The air intake 11 is covered with a filter 11 a.

The heated air supply path 6 is formed to flow air into the inside of the torso 1 through a pedestal section 13 below the torso 1 from the bottom section of a housing 12 containing the air blower 5.

The pedestal section 13 below the torso 1 is formed in a box-like shape. The interior of the pedestal section 13 has a function as the heated air supply path 6.

A radiator as a heat source 14 is mounted in the interior of the pedestal section 13. The heat source 14 is positioned at under the torso 1. The air flows from the air blower 5 into the pedestal section 13 through the flow vent 15 formed in the lower part of a side plate 13 a of the pedestal section 13. This air reaches a high temperature due to heat exchange by the heat source 14 and is blown onto the garment 2 from the inside of the torso 1, and then the garment 2 is dry-finished.

The branch path 7 in this embodiment is mounted vertically upright from the horizontal heated air supply path 6 at the bottom section of the housing 12 along the side plate 13 a of the pedestal section 13. An opening is formed at a location corresponding to an upper end of the branch path 7 as a cool air vent 16 in the side plate 13 a of the pedestal section 13.

The first control valve 8 is provided to the cool air vent 16 side. The cool air vent 16 is opened in the interior of the pedestal section 13 above the radiator as the heat source 14.

Providing the first control valve 8 in the cool air vent 16 side in this embodiment is desirable because the reverse flow of heated air can be prevented at an early stage to enter the branch path 7 through the inside of the torso 1. Thereby, a loss of the heated air can be prevented, and the garment 2 can be efficiently dry-finished.

In the present invention, the branch path 7 is formed to extend upward and downward along the side plate 13 a of the pedestal section 13 as described above. Thereby, the branch path 7 for flowing cool air can be neatly and sequentially mounted at the side of the pedestal section 13 so that this type of finishing device can be made compact and space-saving.

The first control valve 8 is specifically formed to allow a valve lid 8 b to swivel freely upward and downward on a horizontal rod 8 a. The first control valve 8 is formed that close the cool air vent 16 when the valve lid 8 b is vertical, and open the cool air vent 16 when the valve lid 8 b swivels upward on the horizontal rod 8 a.

A reference numeral 8 c (refer to FIG. 3, etc.) is a first air cylinder for moving the valve lid 8 b. The first air cylinder 8 c is mounted vertically with rod facing upwards at an appropriate point on the housing 12.

The second control valve 9 is provided to the flow vent 15 side in this embodiment. The second control valve 9 is formed a valve lid 9 b to allow up and down movement at 90 degrees on a horizontal rod 9 a.

The second control valve 9 is formed that close the flow vent 15 when the valve lid 9 b is vertical, and open the flow vent 15 when the valve lid 9 b becoming level after moving 90 degrees upward (refer to FIG. 5, etc.). Thereby, open the heated air supply path 6 while a branch opening 7 a of the branch path 7 is closed by the valve lid 9 b of the second control valve 9. Therefore, the second control valve 9 contains a function to switch the heated air supply path 6 and the branch path 7 in this embodiment.

A reference numeral 9 c (refer to FIGS. 4 and 5, etc.) is a second air cylinder for moving the valve lid 9 b. The second air cylinder 9 c is mounted vertically with rod facing downwards at an appropriate point on the housing 12.

The control device 10 is for example a microcomputer and outputs a control signal to the first control valve 8 and the second control valve 9, etc. The control device 10 in this embodiment includes a timer to operate the first control valve 8 and the second control valve 9 and is capable of supplying the heated air or cool air to the garment 2 just by setting a specified time in advance on the timer. The control device 10 is contained within a control panel 17 (refer to FIG. 2).

It is described that the operation of the present invention as follows:

First, the worker (operator) set the garment 2 such as shirts, coats, and the like, on the torso 1 as shown in FIG. 1, etc. Next, the worker presses the skirt of the garment 2 with a pair of front and back pressing irons 3.

Then, the worker turns on a switch mounted in the control panel 17, then the garment 2 is steamed by blowing steam. The air blower 5 is started after receive the control signal from the control device 10, at the same time close the first control valve 8 and open the second control valve 9. To explain more concretely, the first air cylinder 8 c and the second air cylinder 9 c are moving, and close the valve lid 8 b of the first control valve 8 and open the valve lid 9 b of the second control valve 9.

Therefore, the heated air supply path 6 is opened.

In this embodiment, close the branch opening 7 a of the branch path 7 when open the valve lid 9 b of the second control valve 9. In this way, the air flows from the air blower 5 does not enter the branch path 7, so the heated air can flow smoothly.

As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 7, the air flows from the air blower 5 into the interior of the pedestal section 13 of the torso 1 from the flow vent 15 through the heated air supply path 6 at the bottom section of the housing 12. The air reaches a high temperature due to heat exchange by the radiator as the heat source 14 and is blown onto the garment 2 from the inside of the torso 1. Therefore, the garment 2 steamed by the steam is dry-finished. The heated air drying time is for a continuous 25 seconds in this embodiment.

After the drying by the heated air, close the second control valve 9 simultaneously open the first control valve 8 when receives the control signal from the control device 10. To explain more concretely, close the flow vent 15 when the valve lid 9 b of the second control valve 9 moving 90 degrees simultaneously open the branch opening 7 a of the branch path 7. Thereby, the valve lid 8 b of the first control valve 8 moves from the cool air vent 16 and open the branch path 7.

Therefore, the air flows from the air blower 5 through the branch path 7 from the heated air supply path 6 at the bottom section of the housing 12 into the interior of the pedestal section 13 of the torso 1 through the cool air vent 16, and is blow onto the garment 2. The garment 2 heated by the heated air is cooled down by the cool air and trims its forms neatly.

The cool air blowing time is for a continuous 5 seconds in this embodiment. The air blower 5 then stops after the 5 seconds elapses after cool air blow. At the same time, the skirt of the garment 2 is released by the pressing irons 3 return backward, and the first control valve 8 and the second control valve 9 then resets to the initial state. The worker takes away the garment 2 from the torso 1 in above state, and the task has now been finished.

In the example in the above description, the second control valve 9 contains a function to switch the heated air supply path 6 and the branch path 7. However, the present invention may be omitted the first control valve 8 if the cool air supply mechanism 4 include functions by this type of switching valve.

Namely, the cool air supply mechanism 4 may be formed like as shown in FIG. 11.

The cool air supply mechanism 4 includes the branch path 7 that branches from the heated air supply path 6 linking the air blower 5 to the inside of the torso 1; a f low path switching valve 18 provided in the branch point between the branch path 7 and the heated air supply path 6; and a control section 19 to control the flow path switching valve 18, and to connect the inside of the torso 1 and air blower 5 through the heated air supply path 6 during the supply of the heated air, and to connect the inside of the torso 1 and air blower 5 through the branch path 7 during the supply of the cool air; and the branch path 7 formed connecting to the inside of the torso 1.

Structures of the heated air supply path 6 and the branch path 7, a mounting position and a type of the heat source 14, and Structures of the flow vent 15 and the cool air vent 16 are identical to the above example. The control section 19 to control the flow path switching valve 18 is structured as same as for example a microcomputer or a sequencer. Also the same reference numerals are assigned to the same members and the same locations, and a detailed description is omitted.

In this embodiment as shown in FIG. 12, the air blower 5 is started when turn on the switch, simultaneously open the heated air supply path 6 and close the branch path 7 by the flow path switching valve 18. Thereby, the air flows from the air blower 5 has a high temperature due to heat by the heat source 14 mounted into the interior of the pedestal section 13 of the torso 1, and the garment 2 is dry-finished in a specified time (for example 25 seconds).

After the drying by the heated air, the flow path switching valve 18 is switched after receiving a signal from the control section 19. Thereby, the air flowing from the air blower 5 is blown onto the garment 2 through the branch path 7, and the form of the garment 2 is trimmed neatly.

After the cool air blows onto the garment 2 in a specified time (for example 5 seconds), the air blower 5 receive the signal from the control section 19 then stops. Then, the flow path switching valve 18 resets to the initial state. Thereby, the task of drying by heated air and trimming by cool air of the garment 2 has now been finished. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A garment finishing device type that finishes a garment worn on a torso by supplying a heated air and steam through the inside of the torso and further including a cool air supply mechanism to supply a cool air onto the garment after drying with the heated air.
 2. The garment finishing device according to claim characterized in that the cool air supply mechanism includes a branch path that branches from a heated air supply path linking an air blower to the inside of the torso; a first control valve to open and close the branch path; a second control valve to open and close the heated air supply path; a control device to close the first control valve and open the second control valve during the supply of heated air, and to close the second control valve and open the first control valve during the supply of cool air; and the branch path is formed connecting to the inside of the torso.
 3. The garment finishing device according to claim 2 characterized in that an opening is formed at a location corresponding to an upper end of the branch path as a cool air vent in a side plate of the pedestal section, and the first control valve is provided to the cool air vent.
 4. The garment finishing device according to claim 1 characterized in that the cool air supply mechanism includes the branch path that branches from the heated air supply path linking the air blower to the inside of the torso; a flow path switching valve provided in the branch point between the branch path and the heated air supply path; a control section to control the flow path switching valve, and to connect the inside of the torso and the air blower through the heated air supply path during the supply of the heated air, and to connect the inside of the torso and the air blower through the branch path during the supply of the cool air; and the branch path is formed connecting to the inside of the torso. 